Leonie Dowsett  1943 - 2019

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Leonie, after a long and bravely fought battle with cancer.

Within the Club she will be most recently remembered for her unstinting support on our race start lines, raising and lowering flags and offering wise advice on the niceties of race-running.

She and Chris were stalwart club members virtually from the beginning, racing their yacht Dragonfly on Breydon to great effect, joining in with every club cruise, attending all the land-based events and, latterly, every regatta to help on the line as 'flags and gun.'  As well as racing at our events, they were regularly to be seen at Wroxham week, racing Leonie's BOD, Goshawk.  They also travelled abroad with the Brown Boat, sailing her on far-flung foreign waters, as well as at the Diamond Jubilee Regatta on Lake Lothing in 2012.

Leonie was invariably accompanied by her two German Shepherd dogs, which would lie out on Dragonfly's aft deck while their mistress was socialising ashore.  This usually meant cider at lunchtime, white wine in the evening and, when cruising, industrial quantities of Pimms at 6 o'clock, for which Leonie would scour supermarket shelves, looking for the most interesting and exotic fruits to add to the concoction.

In later years, having reluctantly sold Dragonfly, Chris and Leonie bought a large ex-hire motor boat, which Leonie christened Pelican, as it was big, white and ugly, but floated.  With this they continued to join in at Club events and to cruise widely across the Broads system, accompanied not only by the dogs, but also Leonie's two African grey parrots.  Her horses had to stay behind, but for those events unobtainable by water, the Dowsetts would arrive in the horsebox instead, still with the parrots and the dogs.

Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in October 2017 and given 6-12 months to live, Leonie determinedly set out to enjoy one more season on the River, which she did, with as much enthusiasm as ever.  She leaves a large gap in our Club and will be much missed by her many friends.

The well attended funeral was held at Gorleston Crematorium on Thursday 18 July.  Afterwards, many friends and family attended the wake hosted by Chris at his home, where guests were lavishly entertained with food and drink and the opportunity was taken to remember Leonie in a manner that she would surely have appreciated.

Dear RCC members,

At our AGM in November 2018 there was some discussion about the display of Registration Marks and in certain cases concerns were voiced about formal correspondence received by yacht owners.  The committee has been endeavouring to clarify the situation.  At that time, the class captain Mels Farrar wrote to the Broads Authority seeking assurances.

The class welcomed representatives from the B.A. and the NSBA at our January committee meeting, where we were able to discuss this situation in more detail.  Since then a small group of the main committee has met with the B.A. on two occasions during February.   For both parties this has been rewarding, with constructive dialogue resulting in clarification that benefits both the RCC membership and the officers of the B.A.

Below, you will see an updated excerpt from the B.A. Display of Registration Marks document, which is the result of our engagement with the B.A. - We are very grateful to have had this opportunity and have also developed some suggestions of our own for RCC owners. These bullet points complement the B.A. requirements, and if followed ensure that your vessel meets the requirements to display Registration Marks and at all times be identifiable.
 
Broads Authority - Display of Registration Marks document (sect 6)


 
River Cruiser Class - 'Best practice'
 
In addition to the guidance in Section 6, Broads Authority 'Display of Registration Marks' we recommend the following to our members;
1.     All yachts should have their registration numbers displayed on their bows, or on a board mounted below the bowsprit.
2.     As a class, all R.C.C. registered yachts should display their name on the transom, excluding yachts with long, low counter sterns or those with canoe sterns.
3.     Whenever the name of your yacht is obscured, such as when motoring - we strongly recommend that owners either display Registration Marks which are visible from astern, or display their Registration Marks on the outboard motor cowling, so that a vessel may be readily identified.
4.     All R.C.C. members should keep both the class and the Broads Authority appraised of changes in ownership (inc. contact details) as soon as possible.
 
If you need a duplicate set of Registration Mark stickers, these are available directly from the Broads Authority.
 
As a committee, we hope that this resolves any queries or concerns that you have had regarding the display of Registration Marks.  Also, we appreciate your support in following the B.A. requirements and our own suggestions on this matter.
 
Best regards
James Dugdale
RCC Captain.

It is with regret that the Yare Sailing Club announces the death of Dave Valentine. He was a long-standing supporter of the Yare Sailing Club, although his first allegiance was always to the Green Wyverns. The GWYC have circulated this tribute:

I write to you with a touch of sadness, as I have to tell you about the death of our friend David Valentine, who died peacefully in his sleep on the 15th of October at home surrounded by his family, as he wished it. David was the last member of the historic 1947 inaugural cruise. Since that time he has served the club in many capacities and always with great enthusiasm for the perpetuation of our way of life on the Broads.

His love of the Broads and our club has led him to sail most club weeks until recently, when his stamina only allowed him to manage a couple of them (a feat that taxes some of us who are much younger). He managed to keep waterborne until almost the end, sailing with us on the Tony Tompkins cruise this year, when he was still on great form entertaining us.

It has been my great privilege to be entrusted with his pride and joy, Puck, as her custodian over the last few years. I am sure you will join me in wishing him well on his final sail into the history of the club.

Andy Garnham
GWYC Commodore

His funeral was held at 2pm on Friday 2 November at Harwood Park Crematorium, near Stevenage.  This was very much a celebration of David’s life and the noise level in the waiting room prior to the service was a testament to this, as old friends met and the family circulated.  No reverent hush here. 

After a fitting Humanist service, attended by around 30 of David's sailing friends, as well as his large family and other close friends, nearly everybody adjourned to a near-by pub to celebrate having known David, lift a glass to him and browse though old photographs of him with his family, in Sri Lanka with his adopted family and on his beloved Puck.  I venture to suggest that the day was just as David would have hoped.

MAK

It is with regret, the Yare Sailing Club inform you of the death in the early hours of Tuesday morning, 18 September, of Mollie Richards (Harriet’s mum).

Mollie (actually, Margaret, but universally known as Mollie) passed away peacefully in her sleep, a few days after her 92nd birthday.

She and her late husband George were life members, having joined the club very early on, when they had RCC 262 ‘Jessie May’ designed by Andy Wolstenholme and built on a Landamore’s hull by Robin and Patrick Richardson.

They were enthusiastic supporters of the club, mostly on the social side, although Jessie May made frequent appearances in the Turkey Race and other club events, until age got the better of them and they gave up sailing. Mollie continued to attend club parties until very recently.

The funeral was held at St.Andrews, Eaton Village on Friday October 12th, followed by a reception at The George Hotel, where her family and friends were able to remember Mollie, and the good times with the Club.

I am sad to report that Jackie Jenner, one of the founder members of the re-formed Yare Sailing Club, has died.

I recall many happy days racing and cruising with both Bill and Jackie Jenner throughout the Broads when they sailed their boat Dragonfly (51) Many of us are indebted to Jackie for her kindness and practical help willingly and modestly given to many of our members, including me.

After Bill’s death Jackie continued to support the club attending our many social and competitive events until she was unable to join us due to mobility problems.

She was elected to the position of Honorary Member some years ago in recognition of her many years of long service to our club.

I send my condolences to all Jackie’s family and friends. We won’t see the likes of her again.

JRK

Her funeral was held on Tuesday 4th September 2018 at Earlham Crematorium, where there was a good turn out of friends to support the family. After a humanist service, full of memories of Jackie, most retired to The Cottage at Thorpe St Andrew for a light buffet and further reminiscences.

David sadly passed away in hospital, on Tuesday 5 December, 2017.

A long standing member and past Commodore of the Yare Sailing Club, David will be best remembered on the Broads for his ownership of Cuckoo, which he raced successfully, winning the YNR and the Cock of the Broads, among many other things. Also a member of the Green Wyvern Yachting Club, he previously co-owned Sparklet, with which he had also won the YNR and Venture, on which he sailed extensively around the North Sea. His final river cruiser was Cricket (now Melbourne Lady), after which he enjoyed travelling extensively around Britain and Europe in the company of friends.

The funeral was held at Earlham Cremmatorium, Norwich on Monday 18 December and attended by many of his friends. Amelia, his daughter, Henry Irving, co-owner of Venture with him and long standing friends Bill and Lesley Noblett all gave moving tributes to David. An adjournment afterwards to the Unthank Arms offered many more opportunities to remember David and reminisce.

It is with the greatest regret that the club have to inform members of the sudden death of Christopher Franks, a long term partner in Wisp and more recently Jessie May. Chris started sailing with the Green Wyvern as a teenager and was a member of the Yare Sailing Club since its re- founding. He will be sorely missed by the many people who knew him. Our sincere condolences to his mother and the rest of his family.

The funeral was held at 2.20pm on Thursday 6th November at Rosehill Crematorium in Doncaster. Friends and family gathered afterwards in the Scarborough Arms, Tickhill, to remember him.

From the Broads Authority:

"Text us to find out the predicted best time to reach Great Yarmouth when crossing Breydon Water. We are trialling this new method during May and June. Text ‘Tide’ to 60777 to receive the predicted low slack water times at Great Yarmouth Yacht Station, and the time of sunset for the day of the request and the following day. The cost is 6p plus your standard message rate."

NEW CLUB CLOTHING NOW AVAILABLE

in various colours, with the club logo

Polo shirts in navy, pink, red (shown above), bottle green, purple, light blue

sizes SX S M L XL 2XL -  £14 : sizes 3XL 4XL  5XL -  £17

Drill shirts in Navy : sizes S M L XL £26

Crew Neck Sweatshirts in navy (shown above), forest green, antique cherry red, purple, dark heather

sizes S M L XL 2XL £16

Hoodies in navy, forest green, sport grey, red

sizes S M L XL 2XL - £20

Full zipped fleeces in navy, bottle green, bordeaux

sizes XS S M L 2XL 3XL 4XL - £22

Order forms available from Julia (money with order, please)
or click here to download one

Would all club members and visitors participating in club races, or other organised water-borne club activities, please note that with immediate effect the committee strongly recommend the wearing of personal flotation devices whilst you are active on the water.

Additionally, you are reminded of ISAF Rule 1.2 which states, “Each competitor is individually responsible for wearing a personal flotation device adequate for the conditions."

Officers of the Day may make it mandatory for life jackets or similar to be worn while racing, with the penalty for not doing so being disqualification from the race in question.

This is for your own safety and all skippers and boat owners should ensure sufficient personal buoyancy aids for all crew members are carried on board at all times.

I am very sad to report that Gordon Winterton, our president, died on the morning of December 17th. Our thoughts and sympathy go to his family, especially Rosie and Jonathan.

I first remember him from the 1950’s when I was introduced to the Broads. I was in awe of him then, but quickly came to realise that he was a true friend. He was always helpful, good humoured and sometimes funny, but never malevolent. Until lately, when ill health started to take its toll, he was an almost permanent fixture on his beloved Force Four during club cruises. Many of us will have memories of his bluff charm when dealing with schoolboys and his robust humour in tricky situations. He had a great influence on many of us either directly or indirectly through his staunch membership and support of both our club and the Green Wyvern Yachting Club. We will miss him.

Joe Kilner

The following has been issued by the Broads Authority:

Due to the ongoing works being carried out by BESL (Broadland Environmental Services Limited) on behalf of the Environment Agency, and in conjunction with exceptionally high water levels, the following advice is given to all boat users:

· Keep well away from the edge of riverbanks - piling that is normally visible can be covered during project works and certain weather and water levels conditions.

· If in any doubt, sailing craft should tack short to avoid any potential hazards.

· Take note of any port and starboard marks and keep seaward of any temporary red warning markers denoting a potential hazard or obstruction. Be wary and keep clear of any work vessels, rigs, cranes, digger arms, barges and ground anchors.

· Check any area thoroughly before you attempt to moor and do not be tempted to moor where instructed not to do so.

· Boats must give way to towed or heavily loaded vessels or vessels restricted in their ability to manoeuvre - only overtake when advised by the skipper of the vessel.

· Report any new hazards or obstructions to the Broads Authority River Control on 01692 678459.

This advice applies until further notice.